Phrases that drive me crazy
I hear these in regular everyday conversation – and I wish someone would tell people what the proper terms (or pronunciations) are. For example:
- Its not fusstration – its frustration
- Its not supposably – its supposedly (if you even have to use that word)
- It’s ask – not aks (or ax)
- You can’t verse someone (as my daughter’s team says – who are we versing today). Who are we playing against?
- Its not unthaw – its thaw (unless of course you meant it has just frozen)
- You actually couldn’t care less (not you could care less)
- Can there be a near miss (that would actually mean it was a hit?) – the term you need is near hit
- Things don’t fall by the waste side – they fall by the wayside
- People don’t go towards something – they go toward it
- And its for all intents and purposes – not for all intensive purposes.
And my all time favourite:
- It is not irregardless – it’s just regardless (the first one is a double negative)
And finally, a slightly picky one that I always seem to get wrong (I thought I should put one on here that I do in public):
- It is not less than 140 characters, it is fewer than 140 characters.
I’ll go back to work now – and stop pretending that I am the “phrase police”.
